Behind the Fight Scene
by Icequeen616
Summary: We all 'know' what happened in the third episode when Jade faked a black eye. But what if there was more to it than that? What will Beck do when he discovers that Jade's fake black eye isn't so fake?
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Victorious._

_No, no. This could not be happening_. Gingerly, I touched the puffy skin around my eye. It was already swelling. The cut underneath was slowly leaking its sickening maroon liquid down the side of my face. _Not on a weekday. Couldn't he have waited till the weekend? I have school today!_ Hastily I reached for the bottles on the counter of my vanity. I was used to covering up the evidence of my father's lack of restraint with make-up. But usually, I didn't need to worry about it until after the swelling went down because I had a weekend for it to settle and bruise.

I splurged on the concealer; hoping it would cover the scratch from his ring. It did, but no amount of make-up could hide the swelling of my eye. I glanced again at the clock. Beck would be here any minute to pick me up for school. I finished applying what I hoped was a decent amount of base on my face. My hand was shaking the entire time. Once finished with the entire process I took a final look at my face. I cursed. Blood was leaking again from the cut. Hastily I dabbed at it. _There, now I just need to bring the bottle of base for touch-ups._

Outside, Beck honked his horn. I grabbed a bottle and shoved it in my backpack. I quickly made my way down the steps and practically ran past my father so that he couldn't have the satisfaction of seeing his handy work. Before I could make it to the door, he called my name.

"I want an apology for your bad manners. Now," he said in a deadly quiet voice. I gulped. Every muscle in me was straining to tell him to shove it, but my mouth wouldn't listen to will power.

"I'm sorry," I told him while still facing the door.

"Will it happen again?"

"No."

"No what," he said; a dangerous steel now present in his voice.

"No sir," I ground out.

"Good. Get out of my site."

"Yes sir." I hastily yanked open the door. This time, I did run. I ran to Beck. I threw myself into the passenger seat and breathed in the smell of his car.

"You okay," he asked. He was trying to be casual but I could sense rather than hear the worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's go." He wanted to argue back that I obviously was not 'good'. I could tell. Thankfully, he shrugged, turned the radio on to a country station, and began to drive to school. The car ride was silent. I could feel the atmosphere thicken with his suspicion. So, I decided to alleviate it. "God Beck," I nagged in the bitchiest voice I could muster. "Why do you have to go to this station? You know I hate country."

"You hate a lot of things," he replied. He was relieved that I seemed to be acting normal again. "You made both a list and multiple videos about it." The heavy atmosphere lessened and we began to banter for the rest of the ride to school.

Once Beck parked, I began to get out. I nearly stopped cold as I felt the moisture on my cheek. I must not have noticed it in the car ride. Thank god my eye was on the opposite side of him. I casually wiped my cheek with my hand and wiped it on my skirt; the black color hiding the blood. To anyone else, I was merely wiping dirt off my face, but on the inside I was panicking. _Did anyone see that? More importantly, did Beck see that? Of course he didn't. I can already see him making his way over to the bitch Tori and our friends. Well, his friends. _I only counted Cat as a friend. Either way, I had to make sure that there wasn't any blood left on my face.

I came up behind him and angled my face to his so that the others couldn't see my eye. "I'll see you in class," I whispered into his ear. He smirked.

"Alright, see ya babe."

I walked off and made my way straight to the restroom. Once there I kicked everyone else out and hastily rummaged through my bag. I sighed in relief after I grabbed the bottle. I quickly turned the tube upside down and squirted the gel into my hand. The tube poured out some blue liquid instead of my skin colored base. I had grabbed my liquid eyeshadow by mistake! I glanced back into the mirror to see some of the make-up rubbing off already.

_What am I going to do?_ _They'll find out!_ I wasn't afraid of Beck finding out because he already knew. I had to beg him not to do anything about it when he found out. Well, actually, it was more like I demanded and he obeyed. On the condition that I would tell him when it happened, let him grab the first aid box, and sit still like a good girl. But that wasn't the point. The point was that everyone else would find out, and Beck would find out that I didn't tell him immediately. I wasn't even sure why I didn't tell him this time. Well, that was I lie. I didn't tell him because I didn't want to deal with his reaction. Not so soon after it happened. I wiped at the blood again. I should be taking pleasure in the wound. Didn't I usually brag about my uncommon fascination with anything gross? I was too scared though. The great Jade West, afraid of the thoughts of people she didn't even like. _Tori would probably use it as an excuse to convince Beck to dump me and go out with her. _

I could see it. She would tell Beck that he would be better off with a prettier girl. She'd say that I had obviously been in a fight and that I was too violent. She'd even accuse me of possibly hitting him. I wouldn't let it happen though.

Even without make-up to cover it up. It wasn't too bad. I would just keep dabbing at the blood for the rest of the day. If someone noticed, I would use my superior acting skills to pretend nothing was wrong. Then, they would think they were just imagining it.

I kept repeating this to myself as I walked out the door to the restroom. Last night I had received an e-mail that my first period was going to be held in the stage area. It didn't say why, but I had a feeling that they were going to have a special guest present to help teach us about some 'new' concept of acting. I would have preferred to get there before everyone else like Beck and I always do, but that wasn't an option anymore. I had spent too much time in the restroom, and would have to hurry just to make it to class on time.

I made it on time, only to find Tori on the back of some guy with curly hair. She was freaking attacking the helper. I smirked at the trouble she would surely get in, and walked into class to join the already formed crowd.

"That guy was beating up Beck!" Tori obviously had no know clue that Steve was the helper of the week. I almost felt pity for her.

"Oh, you poor thing." I probably shouldn't have commented. It could draw attention to myself and my eye, but I couldn't resist. She kissed my boyfriend. I had to get back at her somehow. I quickly glanced at him to make sure he was ok. Vega might have hit him while she was freaking out about Steve. I quickly dabbed underneath my eye while no one was looking.

"We were practicing," he explained. It was obvious he was annoyed. Though, I don't think she could tell. _I_ could tell that Beck looked fine however. I slid my arm into his. I loved the warmth that Beck gave off.

"This is Russ," the professor told us.

"I'm Russ!" Darn, I guess he wasn't a Steve. He still looked like one though. I remember Beck cancelling one of the dates I had planned so that he could go practice with this guy. They stopped by afterwards and Beck introduced us. I didn't really make an effort to remember his name then, and I wouldn't now either.

"He's a professional stuntman. I invited him here to teach the class about stage fighting."

"And now Tori says, 'What's stage fighting?'."

"I wasn't going to say that," she said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I turned back to Beck to take a second look, just to be sure. "I'm fine," he murmured.

"You'd better be. We have a date tonight."

"Really? When did I ask you on a date?"

"It's girl's choice."

"That's what they do at dances."

"So I can't do it with you?" Now I was getting pissed. I had planned a date for us and he didn't want to go. What, was he going to go hang out with the Vega girl to do 'homework'?

"No, no. A date sounds nice. Where at?"

"You'll see," I answered, but he was paying attention to Vega instead and decided to answer her.

"I took a class with him last summer." Oh, yeah. He used that excuse to ditch our date now that I think about it.

"Well, it looked like he was hurting you."

"Why do you care?" Why did she care? He was my boyfriend. Her crazy stunt could have distracted him. He could have been too distracted to follow one of Steve's punches. He could have actually gotten hit, and it would have been all her fault. We would have matching black eyes. Actually, that would be really cute. Something to talk about when we get home and I tell him about my own fight.

"Cause I figured he already suffers enough pain dating you." I saw red. How dare she make insinuations on our relationship? Just cause she wanted him. _And now she'll start to list reasons why he should dump me._ Well I wasn't going to give her the chance.

"You wanna see pain?" I would show her pain. She would never understand my pain. Not with her caring father that obviously loved her and Trina. I could show her a glimmer of it though.

"Hey, why don't we go sit over there?" Beck guided me to a chair and sat me down. He sait down next to me and looked at me condescendingly.

"Come on. Why'd you let her goad you."

"She insulted out relationship. How could you not see it? She basically just told you to break up with me."

"No, she didn't. She was reacting to you picking at her, again."

"She kissed you!" I whispered fiercely.

"No, I kissed her. It was a stage kiss, and our lips didn't even touch. You were just at a bad angle." He looked at me closely. "Hey, is there something wrong with your eye?"

"No," I quickly replied while looking away. I didn't want him freaking out in the middle of class.

"Were you crying again last night?" This was my chance to blow it off. Maybe he wouldn't even have to find out about it later.

"Ye - Maybe," I mumbled; changing my mind half-way through. I did want to tell him about it. Just, not now.

"What was it about?" I refused to look at him. I felt pretty bad lying to him, but there was no other way. Plus, I would tell him about it tonight. "Jade, tell me."

"Shhhh. Class is starting." Cat was on stage with Steve now.

"Now, if I throw a punch at Cat, like this. It's easy to see that my fist didn't connect with her face." _Thank you Steve, for explaining everything. Even the things we already knew._

"Thank you," Cat told him. It was easy to see that he wasn't used to Cat and her ways. He stared at her like she was weird. That got my blood boiling. Cat may be a little strange, but you do not treat her badly. I was ready to offer him my own version of 'stage' fighting when he finally continued with his teaching. Not that I paid any attention.

"You okay?" I looked at Beck out of the corner of my eye so that he wouldn't get a better look at my eye.

"Course."

"Really? Cause you looked about ready to kill Russ just now. He's just teaching."

"I'm naturally intolerant."

"With Tori maybe. Not so much with a teacher's guest."

"So now you're bringing Tori into our conversation again."

I heard Cat shriek and quickly focused my attention on her. She was holding her face until she ran out and said, "I'm okay everyone." I relaxed … slightly. _Is that what I looked like this morning? Did I hold my face like that too? _I couldn't remember. _How could he enjoy making someone look like that?_

"Jade, snap out of it." Becks voice cut through my thoughts. I shook my head and quickly rubbed my eye again. "Seriously, what's eating you?"

"Canadian references Beck? You know I hate that," I snapped back at him. I had to distract him.

"That's not a Canadian saying." He was exasperated again.

"Are you arguing with me?"

"What? No. I – you know what…"

"I thought his name was Steve." Andre's voice carried over to our discussion.

"He does look like a Steve," Vega agreed.

_Man, _everyone's_ a little slow today. _I shifted in my chair as I felt Becks eye's watching me.

"We'll talk about it later tonight." Just like I was planning. Perfect.

"Fine," I pretended to mope in my chair.

"My name is Russ," Steve shouted above the class's collective voices as they agreed with Vega.

"Okay," the teacher continued. "And tomorrow, you'll all perform your fight scenes here in front of the class. So, make sure you practice after class." He told us the pairs. I listened enough to know that Beck and I wouldn't be practicing together. Instead, I got Vega. And by the remarks she was making, she didn't want to be my partner any more than I did hers.

"Tori and who?" I couldn't help but tease her by smirking and raising my eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Though I wish I hadn't. My eye was starting to get sore.

The bell rang and Vega got up to talk to the teacher. No doubt, it was about how I would be a terrible partner and just bring her down. A little rudeness was in order. "Hey, partner," I said in a sickly sweet voice. "I can't wait for our fight… … scene."

Beck followed behind me and put his arm around my waist. "That was mean" he whispered.

"I'm a mean person. What are you going to do about it? Put me in time out?" I was only joking of course. Beck would never do that. He surprised me.

"Well…"

"Beck." There was a warning in my voice and he decided not to push it.

Later, at lunch, Beck brought up the scene at class again.

"You know, she was only trying to help. Maybe you've got her all wrong."

"Are you actually defending her? She could have hurt you."

"How?"

"Nevermind."

"Aww, how sweet. Does Jade West care if I get hurt?"

"Shut it."

"No, but seriously. How could she have hurt me? She was defending me."

"What if she scratched you while attacking Steve?"

"Steve?"

"Uhh. Russel."

"You mean Russ?"

"Who cares?"

"He does."

"I don't."

"Okay, back on topic. I don't think a scratch counts as hurting me. Besides, I'm a guy. I can take a hit."

"Not always."

"Ok, when can't I take a hit?"

"Instead of an arrow to the knee, think of a knee to the groin. I win." He shivered.

"Point made."

"See you tonight," I told him as I got up; dabbing at my eye when my back was turned. It wasn't bleeding as much, but it was still bleeding a little.

"Jade wait," he called out after me. I turned to face him and walked back when he motioned me over. "About the date tonight, can we reschedule? Cat's a little nervous and wants to get some extra practice in after school."

"Sure. See you tomorrow."

"I'll call you tonight, I swear."

"Don't worry about it. Vega and I have our scene down, but I have a lot of homework to do. You better text me good night, though."

"Absolutely. Love ya."

"I know," I said as I walked away.

In the next class, I couldn't help but remember our earlier practice this morning.

"_So," Vega asked in her overly cheerful and fake way. "The slip says we have to do a scene of an old lady and a burglar."_

"_I'll be the burglar. You'll be the old lady. I'll knock you out, steal your money, and run off. It's simple and easy. Think you can handle it? Unless it's too hard. Of course, even Robbie could do this scene."_

"_The old lady shouldn't get knocked out, that's harsh. The old lady should fight back and hit the burglar in the face with her cane." I froze. _

_My dad used a cane once. It was lying on the floor because my grandmother left it behind after visiting us for a day. Dad didn't like how I dressed for her visit and just happened to spot it. That cane hurt a lot. That night, Beck almost lost it. He threatened to call the cops when he saw the bruises on my arms and side. He made me put ice packs on them while we watched a horror movie. I know Beck doesn't like horror movies, but that night he didn't complain even once. He also made me stay the night. I refused to take the bed; stating that girls only did that if they didn't have a backbone. So, I slept on the couch while Beck slept on the floor; stating that there was no way in hell he would sleep in a comfortable bed while his girlfriend slept on the couch._

"…_Does that sound good?"_

"_Whatever," I mumbled distractedly._

"_Great, let's get started."_

"_What?"_

I still couldn't get used to her swinging that damn cane near my face, but I had to suck it up and do the scene tomorrow,

That night, I waited for Beck's text so that I could tell him about the black-eye. When I looked in the vanity earlier, the cut had scabbed a little, but the swelling hadn't gone down any. It was starting to turn slightly blue now as well.

I waited almost all night. Beck was supposed to text me at 10:00, but he texted me at 1:00 instead. He had been busy and hadn't gotten home till late. He just remembered to text me, but I was too tired to text him back any more than necessary. 'I'll tell him tomorrow night' I promised myself as I tried to get at least a fraction of the sleep I knew I needed.

**So, this is my first fanfiction for Victorious. I love the series and was just going through youtube when I came across Jade&Beck Hidden Moments – Season 1. After that I started wondering. What if there was more to it than Jade getting back at Tori? So, during the course of one day I wrote this. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Beck showed me Vega's post on the slap outside of class.

**Time for stage fighting class. Should I ditch? I wish.**

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing," I muttered under my breath. Unfortunately, Beck heard me.

"Huh? Why?"

"No reason it's just... you know what? Never mind." I almost dabbed at my eye again out of habit, but I caught myself. I didn't need to anymore because it had finally scabbed over.

"O-kay," he questioned. "Well, anyways. I think you really scared Tori. Maybe you should go calm her down. You know, like, promise her you won't hit her for real." Speak of the devil, I could see her making her way towards us now. I hissed at her as she passed me to get through the doors, and she literally jumped on the way in. I turned back to Beck with a smirk only to see him frowning at me in disapproval.

"Look, there's nothing for you to worry about. You obviously don't know what happens in our scene," I reasoned.

"Why, what happens?" Crap! If I told him he'd know I was worried.

"Nothing. You'll see. Actually, It's not important." In the scene, every time I would try to 'hit' her, she would successfully 'dodge'. Even if I actually tried to hit her for real, she would be ready. She couldn't get hit. Plus, the swings I would throw wouldn't actually be anywhere near her face. The cane, on the other hand, would only miss _my _face by an inch.

"Jade, seriously. Are you okay. You're acting, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're acting scared." He smirked. "It can't be that you're scared of 'that Vega girl'."

"Oh, you caught me Oliver. I'm scared of the girl who can't even look at me straight in the eye today."

"Alright, but seriously_. _Don't 'accidentally' hit her for real. Please. I don't want you to miss our makeup date because you got detention."

"What make-up date," I questioned; trying to dodge the question.

"Jade," he said warningly. Of course that wouldn't work.

"I'll consider it."

"Why are you being so difficult today," he groaned in exasperation.

"No reason. Besides, you shouldn't make a speculation about an entire day before first period even starts." I loved getting under his skin.

"Jade, I know you don't like Tori, but please don't get yourself in trouble."

"Fine. Tell me you love me."

"Say the magic word."

"Now?" I pouted my lips in an attempt to look cute. No one was around so I didn't mind using this skill that I knew Beck had a special weakness for.

"Jade." He wasn't buying it. I could not prevent worry from creeping into my thoughts that were already on edge. _Why won't he tell me? He didn't say it last night either. Maybe he had a really good time with Cat. He was there really late. Did they get carried away? Or maybe he did it on purpose. Maybe Dad's right. Did Beck get tired of me?_ _What am I going to do without Beck? What excuse will I have to get out of the house? I can't lose him! _"Jade!"

"Beck?" I couldn't help it. I was panicking, and I think my voice showed it.

"Hey, hey. Shh. I love you." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we sat down.

"I-I know," I said in an attempt to regain my dignity.

"Do you?" He would have continued but class had started and it was time for us to perform our scenes.

Andre and Win were first. It was unnerving to watch them 'fight'. I couldn't help but think about my upcoming fight scene. I nearly got hit the last couple of times Vega and I had practiced. There was something about_ that_ cane. Every time she swung it, I would picture_ that_ event. It didn't help that she was dressed as a grandmother either. I had to do the scene right. Thankfully, I had persuaded/threatened Vega into letting the burglar win in the end. It was just my kind of ending where evil prevails. She didn't need to know that I wasn't sure I could pretend to get hit without freaking out. _Get a grip Jade. Just attack the granny, pretend to get hit by the cane, pretend to try to hit her while she dodges all your advances, and let her escape while holding her purse. You just have to get 'hit' once. Suck it up and be an actor._

"Tori and Jade." I stood up with my usual arrogance and smirked at Vega. She nervously smiled back. Oh yeah, I was getting to her. I noticed Beck glancing at me worriedly. No one else would ever be able to tell because his expression was the same cool, calm, and collected look he always wore. His eyes though, were checking to make sure I was in tip top form. I wasn't, but he didn't need to know that. He sent me a quick wink for good luck and I felt a fleeting bit of confidence surge through me before it left just as quickly.

I sent him a wink in thanks before I walked up to the 'stage', and put the cap on; being extra careful not to smudge the make-up over my eye. The last thing I needed was some kind of accident to happen and expose the thing in front of the class.

"Uhm, okay. For our scene I'm going to be playing an old lady who's walking home from a bingo game."

I couldn't resist. She was making this too easy. "And I play a brutal mugger." Sarcasm was a gift.

"Yes, a brutal mugger who mugs me without actually hurting me."

She was as nervous as I was. Though, I did a much better job at hiding it. Probably because I was the better actor.

I tuned Steve's next words out so that I could instead start getting into character. If I was going to pull this off right, I was going to have to focus. I vaguely heard something about butternut.

"And…" I was ready. I could do this.

"Butternut!"

"What!" She broke my concentration! I was ready! I could have actually gone through with it perfectly. Why couldn't she let me have this one scene? She had to ruin it and break character. What was with this butternut anyways? Why can't she just be a professional about it and do her damn part?

"Tori, what's the problem?" I didn't have time to listen to her problems. I had to get back in character. _Focus. Focus._

"And…" Oh no, it wasn't working! I couldn't get back into character! "Action."

"Oh, I certainly did enjoy the bingo." _There's your prey. Get ready. Wait, was this how he felt when he was getting angry? Did he prepare? Did he plan out his strategy beforehand like I did?_ "Although I do miss Bob Hope." _It doesn't matter. It's your part. GO!_

"Give me your money." So _far so good. You've got this._

"What," her scraggly voice screeched.

"I ain't playing. Give me your money and your watch." _Here it comes. Dodge, dodge, don't forget to dodge._

"Wouldn't you rather have this?" That sickly sweet voice pervaded my thoughts. My arms went slack and she escaped. I couldn't help it. I could hear _his_ voice saying those words. Before I knew it, the cane was near my face. I pictured him swinging it and freaked. I dodged at the right time, but I lost my balance and tripped. I landed hard on my knees and let out a pained "Ow!"; just managing to cover my injured eye with the back of my hand to prevent further injury.

I lay there stunned. My knees and eye were throbbing. I glanced at my gloves to see make-up covering them. I dabbed at my eye frantically and found my fingers covered in blood. I must have ripped the scab off when I fell! _What do I do? What do I do?_ _Wait, Vega broke character using butternut, I might as well try it too._ "Butternut," I tried to yell, but it didn't come out as loud as I had hoped. I stumbled to my feet. The hat was pushing against the bruise unbearably so I ripped it off. "Butternut," I yelled again with more power. _This almost hurts as bad as yesterday. Did I hit it again when I fell?_

It wasn't long until there was a crowd gathering around me. Thankfully, Beck was a part of that crowd.

"Let me see. Let me see," I heard Steve repeat.

"Are you okay," Beck asked. I couldn't hide it anymore. I was not okay. They all knew. In that moment, there was no difference between Tori and my father. They were the same person, the same being. My father was Tori in that moment.

"No! Tori hit me in the face for real." Suddenly Steve and the teacher were the cops who were investigating him.

"No I didn't." Of course he was trying to deny from it. He never admitted it; never got caught. Not this time though. This time, he would get caught.

"Tell that to my bloody eye!" I touched the cut to prove a point. Big mistake. "Ow," I cried as I huddled into my only source of comfort, Beck. His warmth was an anchor, and slowly, I returned to the present reality. The realization of what I had done was like a cold bucket of water dousing a shirtless man in the snow. I had confused Tori with my father and blamed it all on her. My knees went weak as the guilt began to crush me.

"Alright, you better sit down."

"Somebody grab a chair!"

"Here here here," Tori shouted. Even after what I had just done, she was willing to help me. I had to tell them… somehow. I sat down quickly, but when I should have met solid wood, I didn't. A falling sensation filled me as I crashed to the floor. It ended only to allow a searing, stabbing pain to shoot into my right arm. Something had stabbed me.

"That was a breakaway chair," Steve shouted. _Did Tori do that on purpose?_ The guilt I had been feeling diminished slightly. _If she's trying to hurt me with a breakaway chair, then who's to say she didn't actually try to hit me. I knew that stick came at me really quickly. That was way too fast to be an accident._ I glared at her. I couldn't feel my right arm, but I wasn't going to let her know that. She was just like my father. She wanted to see her handy work. There was no way I was going to give her that satisfaction. She already knew about the black eye, but the black jacket hid whatever was hurting my arm. I would not let her win.

"Oh, butternut," she complained. No doubt, it was because she thought that all I had received was a black eye.

I felt Beck's arms sneak underneath my own and wrap around my torso as he lifted me up. It was uncomfortable, but for some reason my legs wouldn't cooperate at the moment. After he lifted me up all the way, he twisted me so that I was facing him. He helped me stumble my way to an actual chair. I discreetly kept my arm close to my chest so that no one would notice it.

After I sat down, I began to notice just how many people were crowding around me. Beck and Cat were there, of course. So were Steve, the teacher, and a whole bunch of other people I didn't know. It was making me extremely uncomfortable. Beck grabbed the hand of my injured arm and held on to it; sending waves of comfort through our linked hands. I was so focused on using Beck's hand so that I wouldn't snap at everyone, that I didn't even notice Cat leave. Soon, an icepack was procured by someone. Once it touched my eye I instantly felt some relief. An icepack was a luxury I was only allowed when Beck and I were at his RV. Dad didn't stock up on medical supplies.

I heard rushed footsteps make their way over to me as Beck helped me stand up again. My arm was killing me so much more than my eye. I had made my choice though. No one would know about it; not Tori or anyone one else in the school. But, could I really believe that Tori would do that on purpose? I know I wasn't the nicest person to her. And yeah, we insult each other a lot. But would she really try to hurt me. I couldn't see it.

"Jade, you know I didn't hit you. I swung but I missed." I knew that now. I had to tell them that it wasn't her fault, and I had to do it soon. I could make up a lie about how I actually got the black eye as I went, but first I had to apologize to her.

"Look, Tori," but the words 'I'm sorry' never came out. The pain in my arm became too much and I nearly passed out.

"We gotta get her to the nurse."

"Can someone call my mom," I pleaded. I don't know why I asked that. Even though I really did want to see her, my mom's been out of the picture for years. What was I going to do when they couldn't contact her? Thankfully, Beck was way ahead of me.

"I'll call your mom." God, I love him.

"She doesn't need her mom. Don't bother her mom," Tori snapped.

"I gotta call her mom."

_Why doesn't she want my mom to know? Unless, she was really trying to hit me, and she doesn't want to get in trouble. I can't believe I almost apologized to her._ Outrage pervaded my emotions. I wanted her to be hated at school as much as I was at home, so I laid it on thick. "And I thought we were just starting to be friends." Unfortunately, it wasn't entirely untrue. I could have seen us being friends if she forgave me for what I said. But now, there was no need for her forgiveness, and she surely would not get mine.

Once we made it to the hall, I realized I couldn't feel Beck's hand anymore. "Beck," I called. "Beck!" Where was he? There were too many people. I just wanted Beck.

Suddenly, his hand was back in my own, and he was right next to me. I felt a little bit of energy then. It was just enough for me to start getting myself emotionally stable; something I would need if I was going to hide whatever was wrong with my arm from the nurse. I would not let Vega gain the satisfaction from rumors that she had hurt my arm.

**Hey, so a couple things. First, I know Jade's jacket was actually grey, but I needed it to be black so that it would work with the plot. I'm posting this before it's completely ready. I would prefer to edit it even more, but I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. Afterwards will play out one of two ways. I will either have nothing to do and will be writing constantly to fill the void, or I will be in too much pain to write anything. In case it's the latter, I'm posting this now. I apologize for any grammar mistakes. Also, reviews are just as much a gift as sarcasm, so don't be shy.**


	3. Chapter 3

By the time we made it to the door of the nurses office, I was completely over my near emotional breakdown, and was completely back to being myself. Though there wasn't a physical change to my appearance, Beck obviously noticed something because he squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile of relief. There was no break in the group's stride as they cruised through the door to the nurse's office. The idiotic elderly lady just stared at the group that had barged in unceremoniously. Never mind the fact that I was obviously bleeding. She collected herself quickly though, and sent the crowd out with a wave of her hand. Everyone that is, except for Beck.

"Son, you need to leave so that I can check out Jade's eye," she informed him sweetly.

"I would, but she won't let go of my hand," he laughed while scratching his head. I glared at him. So, he was going to flirt with the elderly nurse as well. He shrugged as if to say 'I'm just being friendly'.

"What? Speak up. I can't hear you. "

"I said, 'she won't let go of my hand!'"

"Jade, let go of his hand."

"No."

"If you don't then I can't check out your eye."

"Then don't and we'll leave."

"Wait! Let me grab the trashcan before you heave." Honestly, how could such a feeble lady be the freaking school nurse? She was completely incompetent.

"If you're not gonna check me out then I'll just leave! It's just a black eye!" I shot her a snarl.

"Don't be silly," she glared. "You don't need a rabbi. Now sit down, and let me look at your eye." My eye's popped open. She wasn't even affected by my aggressiveness. This stern lady came out of nowhere. "I know exactly how to deal with stubborn patients. Now quit being a gank and let me have a look."

"He's not leaving." There is no way I was going to just let her force me to do her bidding. I was Jade, the rebellious girl whom everyone feared.

"Did I say, 'let go of his hand and sit down'"? No, I didn't. Obviously, you're going to refuse to let him leave no matter what I do so it would be redundant for me to insist upon it." _Looks like she finally gets it._ I made my way over to the plastic chair she had indicated and sat down while Beck leaned against the counter it was next to. She gave Beck another glance. "I don't have any extra chairs," she said brusquely.

"That's fine. I'm perfectly comfortable."

"Good, now stay quiet or I _will_ make you leave."

"Yes ma'am," he saluted.

The nurse rolled her eyes and turned back to me. "So, what's the damage?"

"My eye," was she freaking blind too?

"Well obviously, but are there any other injuries? A boy came running in here shortly before you arrived and started yapping about a broken chair. Any ideas as to why?"

"Tori Vega purposely…"

"I've got no time for your teenage drama. Were you injured?"

_Seriously, she's interrupting me? _"No," I clipped out. I purposely stayed my hand from grabbing onto the injured one. I already didn't like this lady and I sure as hell didn't want her prying into my life.

"Are you sure? Sometimes the adrenaline can cause the pain to be masked. There's no reason to be a tough person in here." Ha, I could think of one, and it revolved around Vega. She would not win.

"I'm sure you're right." I faked a smile. "I'm not trying to be tough though. If there was an injury, there would be no reason I would hide it."

She narrowed her eyes. "People hide injuries for all sorts of reasons. I'm just making sure that you're not one of those idiots who try to reject help when they need it."

I bristled. I was not an idiot. If I was, then I would think that showing her my arm would get Vega in more trouble and make her miserable. I wasn't, and I knew that even if her punishment worsened, she would still have the satisfaction of knowing she had hurt me. _He_ always enjoyed it. Why would she be any different? "Well, I can assure you that I'm not. My eye really hurts though. Can I go home after you take a look at it," I imitated Vega as best I could minus the accent. Maybe if I seemed eager to go home, she would think I was overplaying it instead of downplaying.

"No you may not!" That set her off. Good. "Honestly, people like you are always trying to get out of class." Ouch, that kind of stung. People like me. Well, it's not like I didn't earn that reputation. "You are not injured to the point of hospitalization so you are going back to class. Hold still while I take a look at the extent of the bruising. She roughly grabbed my face and angled my head this way and that. "You bruise easily. It's already starting to color." _That's because it's a day old. Some nurse you are._ "Oh well, despite the swelling that developed really quickly, I see nothing to cause too much concern." With that, she grabbed a cotton swab and applied a generous coat of some foul smelling liquid onto it. The moment she pressed the cotton onto the cut below my eye, I recoiled. That stung like a bee. I hate bees! "Quite being a wimp." I was many things, but a wimp was not one of them. I squeezed Beck's hand just a little as she pressed it back to my face, but I showed no further signs of discomfort. Once she was done, she applied a weird looking band-aid to it and stepped back to admire her handy work. She was looking at me when a frown crossed her face. She turned to Beck. "She got hit by a cane, right?"

"That's correct."

"You saw her get hit, right?"

"Yes."

"Why would a cane leave a scratch as well as a bruise," she wondered to herself. _Damn it, I'm so close to getting out of here._

"How would I know? You're the nurse." She glared at me; sending shivers down my spine, though I would never admit it.

"Watch it, or I'll keep you in here all day with nothing to do." Ha, she thinks she can scare me into submission. Heads up lady, I've dealt with far worse. "I'll make your friend leave as well." Well, that was going to be how she played it. If she wanted to play dirty, then she was going to lose. I began to imagine all the ways to give her hell until Beck squeezed my hand. He gave me a knowing glance. One that said 'I know what you're doing and please don't do it'. I slowly realized that the longer I stayed here, the larger a chance that she will realize she needs to take a look at my hand.

"Look, I got hit, what else is there to it? Maybe the force of the blow broke skin, I really don't know. I do know that this chair is uncomfortable and I'd really like to see my favorite teacher Sikowitz." I didn't like Sikowitz, but he was definitely preferable to the other teachers.

"That's plausible, I suppose. Alright, just be sure to put ice on it when you get home and you'll be fine." We stood up and Beck switched his hands to be placed on my shoulders.

"Don't worry," Beck interrupted my snarky comment, "I'll make sure she does." The nurse raised her eyebrow at us as we made our way out of the door. Before we could fully escape, she called out, "Do I need to lecture you two on the necessity of protection?"

I was mortified. Honestly, did everyone presume that we were shagging? I began to turn around to give her a piece of my mind, but Beck's grip on my shoulders tightened and he called over his shoulder, "That's completely unnecessary."

"Good, keep it that way," she said as the door closed.

"Just cause you couldn't get some if you tried," I mumbled.

"Thank you," Beck said.

"For what?"

"Not saying that to her face. So, instead of our rescheduled date, do you just want to hang out at my place?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright. Now, let's get you to Sikowitz's class.

"Do we have to?" I looked over my shoulder at him.

"Yes. We already missed second period and part of third."

I pouted and looked ahead again. I grabbed my throbbing wrist and continued walking forward.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Damn, he was suspicious again. I should probably tell him, and I didn't want to wait until tonight again in case something happened. I was also tired of avoiding his questions.

"I don't know," I confessed. "I think I hurt it when I fell through the chair."

"And you didn't tell the nurse this why?"

"Because I don't want Vega to know!" How could he not get that? What other reason could there be?

"I doubt the nurse is going to call Tori over and tell her all about it."

"Maybe not, but when people see a bandage around my arm, they'll figure it out."

"Fair enough. Let me take a look before we get to Sikowitz's class though."

"No."

"Jade," he warned. "We have a deal."

"Vega did this, not my dad. Therefore, the rules don't apply."

"Jade, you can't honestly expect me to know you're hurt and not do anything."

"That's exactly what I expect Beck." Beck stopped and turned me around to face him. We were right outside Sikowitz's door.

"Jade, that's not going to happen, now let me see."

"No!" Why couldn't he just let it go? I could see I wasn't going to get anywhere though. So, I tried to bargain. "Look, I'll show you after school at your place. Ok?"

"No, it's not ok. You can't just…"

"Beck, Jade, quit flirting and get in my class," Sikowitz's voice called through the door. I smirked and opened the door. I grabbed a seat near the front so that Beck couldn't bother me without Sikowitz hearing him. Beck grabbed the seat next to mine and immediately put his arm around my shoulder.

"This is not over," he informed me. I rolled my eyes.

"Beck, you've had enough alone time with Jade. It's time to focus on class. There are much more important things than relationships, like coconut milk. Ahhh, coconut milk. It can keep you company on even the loneliest of nights. Anyways, get up here with Andre. You two are going to do a drive by acting exercise in class.

The exercise took up the rest of class. When the bell rang, I quickly made my way out the door before Beck could have a chance to catch up. I assumed that when he couldn't find me, he would just continue on into lunch. I ran towards the girls' restroom immediately and locked myself in a stall. I yanked my sleeve back to check the damage. My eyes widened in shock when I saw the amount of blood soaking my arm. That wasn't the worst part though. The worst part was the piece of wood sticking out of my wrist.

I needed something to stop the blood, but I would_ not_ use toilet paper directly on an open wound. That was begging for an infection. There were paper towels outside the stall. I could use those, but I would have to be quick. I pulled my sleeve down and made a mad dash to the paper towels and back. I had just closed the door when I heard voices come in. I tuned them out while I bit down on my hoodie and yanked the wood out. I slammed a paper towel on the hole to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, the pain was growing now that I had aggravated the cut. I was focusing on not whimpering when I heard my name mentioned along with Vega's.

"I heard that Tori got called into Lane's office today." _Score. That'll teach her to mess with me._

"What for?"

"Didn't you hear? She gave Jade West a black eye!"

"_The_ Jade West? And she's still alive?" _For the moment._

"I can't believe it either. But get this. Tori got two weeks of detention for it. Plus, she has to clean up the stage area this Friday after the food fight scene." _Yay, but that's kind of harsh. She didn't actually hit me, but she is the reason I'm bleeding. She did do it on purpose after all. Didn't she? What am I thinking? Of course she did. _

"That's horrible. She's already going to die when Jade gets a hold of her."

"I don't think she will. I heard from her classmates that Jade was a mess. She even begged Tori for her mother." _Excuse her. I would never beg._

"There's no way. I would believe you if you said _Tori_ was begging for her mother after Jade West got a hold of her, but Jade. That's just not possible. You don't think Jade's going soft, do you?" _Soft? Soft! Like hell I was getting soft!_

"I think she might be. If she is, I might have a chance at Beck. Maybe I should flirt with him during lunch. She wasn't with him when he was heading outside." This got me furious. I grabbed the toilet paper and wrapped it around the paper towels like a bandage. I yanked my sleeve down and was about to slam the door open to show her who's soft when I nearly fell over due to dizziness. I yanked my sleeve up; assuming that I had bled through. I hadn't. Looks like my arm wasn't going to be obnoxious and bleed all day like my eye had. I leaned against the tiled wall as they left. My fight had gone out of my system. Besides this girl wouldn't make a move on Beck. She was obviously all talk. I just needed to lean against the wall for a bit and wait for the dizziness to pass, which it did soon. With renewed purpose, I strode out through the stall. I would not be beaten by a flesh wound. I looked at my eye in the mirror. The bruise was showing, but there would be no point in covering it up. The school knew about it anyways. Might as well wear it proud while Tori takes the blame.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

By the end of the school day, however, my guilt had over run my anger. I had seen Tori at lunch and she seemed miserable. I should have been ecstatic. Perfect Vega wasn't so perfect anymore, but I wasn't. She hadn't been the one to give me a black eye. As much as I wanted to bask in her misery, I couldn't. For the rest of my classes, I replayed the scene over and over again. It just didn't add up. If she wanted to hurt me, there were better ways. Why would she use the break-away chair? That would only point a neon sign in her direction. If she wanted to get away with it, she should have left it at the eye and claimed innocence. They probably would have believed her, they always do. The only option I could come up with is that she really didn't know it was a break-away chair. But if she was trying to help me afterwards, why try to hit me in the first place. Unless she wasn't trying to cause me harm at all. If that was the case, then I had a lot to feel guilty about. The slight doubt I felt only expanded as I made my way to the passenger seat of Beck's car after school. He came shortly after, and unlocked it so that I could get in. I hadn't even had a chance to turn around after closing the door before he bombarded me again. "Let me see."

"No." I was too busy thinking to deal with this right now.

"Jade…"

"We're still at school Beck."

"I don't care. I didn't see you at lunch, and you've been avoiding me in between classes. I need to know that you're ok."

"Beck, please. Not right now." He must have sensed that something was troubling me. He made a bargain. One that I quickly agreed to.

"Fine, but tell me this. How bad is it?"

"I already pulled out the splinter so it's not bleeding anymore."

"It was bleeding!" Why couldn't he be his calm and collected self right now?

"Not anymore. Look, you can take a look at your RV ok. Same deal. I promise."

He mulled it over and agreed. I put on a bored expression as we pulled out of the parking lot. Once we were out of school grounds, I mulled over the scene again and again until I came to a conclusion. Tori hadn't done anything on purpose. I had gotten her into undeserved trouble, and I had to fix this. But first, I had to tell Beck everything.

**Hey! So, this didn't really come out the way I hoped, but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyways. **


	4. Chapter 4

We got back to his RV sooner than usual due to his rebellion against the speed limit. I felt a small sense of pride at that. Looks like I was finally rubbing off on him. Unfortunately, that also meant that I would have to tell him what happened sooner rather than later. I still had no idea on what I would say to him. How do you start a discussion to tell your boyfriend that you got a girl in trouble for something she didn't do? Oh, and by the way, you broke a deal between the two of you? Not so easily done.

My thoughts were interrupted when Beck opened my door and gestured towards the RV. I made my way out and nearly toppled over from dizziness. Why couldn't my damn head work right? Beck caught me before I could fall to the floor though. Dude's got reflexes.

"I knew you weren't alright. You can't even stand up straight."

"I can stand just fine. I can walk too." I would have demonstrated this as well, but his arms wouldn't let go of me.

"I'd rather not test that theory."

"It's not a theory, it's a fact. Now let me go so I can prove it." If I didn't show him I was fine now, he would molly coddle me all night.

"Nope." After that, he swooped me into his arms and began to carry me like an infant to his RV.

"Your mom's gonna wonder why you're doing this!"

"Let her wonder."

"She already hates me."

"She doesn't… … well… then what's the harm?"

"I don't want her busting in on us."

"I'll lock the door."

I glared at him. "I'm living proof that a lock doesn't do anything."

He laughed. "I doubt my mom has steel toed combat boots."

"_You_ know a pair of my boots got stolen two months ago, and _I _know she did it."

"Jade, I found them under the bed weeks ago."

"Those aren't mine. Mine had a sticker of scissors on the inside. You're mom stole them."

"So, let me get this straight," Beck said as he walked up the steps to his RV. "My mom braved Acidic Blood and bought a pair of their boots. Then, she snuck into my place just to switch them out with your exact same pair."

"Yes."

"And the fact that you and my mother have two different shoe sizes?" he asked as he single-handedly unlocked the door.

"She bought my size so that she could switch them out."

"I still don't see the point in any of this."

"She's trying to mess with me," I finalized as he walked through the door.

"Because my mother has nothing better to do with her time than to mess with you, right?"

"Exactly."

"And there is absolutely no chance, at all that the sticker just fell off. Right?"

"Finally you get it."

He carefully lowered me onto the couch; giving me a quick peck before he left towards the kitchen area. The jerk was being cheap. "I still know she did it," I called out after him.

"I know," was his reply. He came back with a bag of ice in his hands and carefully placed it on my eye. I puckered up for another kiss, but he walked past me towards the bathroom. I settled into the couch and decided to wait patiently. I still had half of our promise intact and I didn't want to ruin it. The bliss given by the ice felt pretty good on my face, too. I knew that the longer he took to get back, the longer I would get to wait before I had to tell him everything.

There was one thing I was curious about though. Why wasn't he mad at Vega for my eye? As far as I could tell, he hadn't treated her any differently. Wasn't he upset? My musings were interrupted as he came back in with the first aid kit, and sat on my feet.

I raised a single pierced eyebrow in question as he shrugged. "I need somewhere to sit, babe," was his explanation. I lowered my eyebrow and continued to stare at him; waiting for his next move.

He stared back at me for a while, but eventually his impatience got the better of him. Few people, other than Beck's friends, know that the cool, calm, laid back guy is actually pretty impatient. One of the things that makes our romance such a whirlwind. Beck is continually fighting back his impatience because he considers it stressful. Of course, Vega wouldn't know that because she's not considered a part of our circle of friends. At least, not by me. "So," he began, "are you gonna tell me what's going on, or am I going to have to figure it out?"

"How was your lunch?" Obvious, but maybe it would do the trick and distract him. I wanted a little longer before the peace was broken.

"Stressful because I was looking for you the entire time. So, what aren't you telling me?" I looked down, away from his probing eyes, and mumbled the truth. He rolled his eyes and leaned over me; one arm braced on the back of the couch, the other on the cushion. I was effectively trapped. "Babe," he whispered in my ear. Oh how I loved that word. When he used it, people knew he was talking to or about me and only me. When I used it, people knew he was mine and mine alone. He continued, "You're adorable when you act shy, but right now I need the tough, get out of my way or else girl to come out of hiding."

I was hooked. His voice filled my ears. The heat his body gave off radiated around me like a blanket. His cologne filled my senses, and I was hypnotized. I leaned in and claimed the kiss he'd been owing me since we parked in his drive way. I kissed him with enough force so that he would never forget just why we were perfect. I couldn't deny it. It hadn't even been a day, and I missed his presence that was constantly beside me. All day I missed _him_. Avoiding him had taken its toll, and I was going to get my fill before I let him take control of anything. This was my fix and I would not give it up for anything; except air. Gasping, I leaned back against the cushion and stared at those gorgeous eyes. He was out of breath, too. Good. I smiled lazily at him and just took in everything about him. Especially his cologne. He was wearing the one I got him two days after one of his birthdays. It didn't count as a present, but it was better than the can of lemonade I _did_ get him. I was still taking in the heat he gave off when he asked, "Where else are you hurt?"

"My arm got caught in the chair. It's bleeding." Mmmmm, those eyes.

"It's what!" Those eyes widened considerably and my trance was effectively broken. "Let me see."

"Beck, it's not too…"

"I don't want to hear that it's not too bad, I just want to see your arm."

I cradled my arm to my chest. Good girl be damned. I was not going to let him see it until I asked my question. I didn't care if Tori was innocent. I had to know. "Why aren't you mad at Vega?"

"Jade, do we honestly need to have this conversation right now?"

"Yes Beck, now. Why aren't you mad at Vega?"

"I am Jade," he said while looking at me in complete disbelief. "I'm just better at hiding it than you are. She's still our friend and I won't ruin that because an accident. Now, let me see your arm!" Cheesy, but it would do, except for the fact that Vega was not my friend. That chair incident was pure stupidity and I would never befriend someone with so little brain tissue. Even Cat would have never been so idiotic.

"How many times do I need to say this? Vega and I are not…" Beck cut me off with a glare and I decided not to push the topic any further… today.

Slowly, I unfurled my arm from my chest and began to hold it out to him. His glare faded and he met me half way and gently took it into his left hand. He used his right to unzip my jacket zipper and slide it off my unhurt arm. With even more care, he slid the other sleeve over my elbow and wrist so that my arms were completely free. He carelessly tossed it over his shoulder before he began to unwrap my clumsy make-shift bandage. He gasped when he completely took off the crumbling bandages. "You call this not that bad," he exclaimed. "Jade this is awful!" He pulled it up to his face and began examining it closely. No doubt, looking for any remaining splinters. Luckily, he found none. I wasn't sure I could take much more. He sat back and used my uninjured hand to pull me into a sitting position. He grabbed the anti bacterial wipes and placed them directly onto my arm; causing me to flinch. He didn't stop at just one. He continued to remove it and place another in its stead until there wasn't any blood except for the part that was slowly oozing out. He grabbed some kind of gauzed and placed multiple pieces onto the opening; probably more than was actually necessary. He grabbed the real bandages and began wrapping my arm in the practiced way that he had acquired after years of patching me up. His mind was free to wander as he did this simple task and he used that freedom to exclaim his opinion on my arm.

"There is no way that this was an accident. It had to have been planned. I can't believe Tori did this to you!"

"I don't think she meant to."

"What do you mean? She gave you a black eye Jade."

"That's the thing. She didn't." Confusion flickered across his face.

"I saw the entire thing. There was no black eye before, and then after you two fought, there was."

"She didn't actually hit me." His confusion began to morph into suspicion.

"That black eye is definitely not fake. If she didn't do it, then who did?" It was obvious he already knew the answer.

"Same as always."

"Jade! You swore you would tell me immediately. Why didn't you tell me during lunch?"

"Because it happened earlier than that." Seeing the look on his face, I ploughed on before he could interrupt me.

"I was going to tell you the night it happened, but you were really busy and I didn't want to nag you too much."

"The night it happened? So, you've been keeping this from me for days? Damn it Jade! If it's something like this, then I want you to nag me about it. I need to know!" He got up from the couch and stood; towering above me.

"I didn't want to mess up your grade. I was going to tell you as soon as we were alone, but stuff happened."

"I'll say stuff happened. Have you seen yourself? You're pale and you can barely stand. Jesus, Jade, why didn't you tell the nurse about your arm?"

"Because then everyone would know! I didn't want Vega to get her satisfaction!"

"I thought she didn't do it!" He was shouting now, and it wasn't helping my state of mind.

My frantic thoughts took over and all I could mumble was an incoherent, "She didn't…but my arm…I don't know…but her voice, it was so much like his and… it was so sweet and the cane was just…he was smirking… He took pleasure in it, and so did she … and I tripped. People can't know that I messed up a scene. They can't know about my eye. He just smirked and continued to watch tv and… I…" I broke down crying. All the emotions I hadn't shown just exploded out of me… again.

"Shhh." Beck comforted as he knelt by my side. "I know babe, I know." I had no idea what he claimed to know, but he wasn't yelling anymore, so that was a plus. He gathered me into his arms and slowly rocked with me on the couch. His embrace giving me strength, again. He always knows when to not push things. I don't know what I would do without him, and suddenly, I had to fix this. This argument had to end.

"I was going to tell you," I promised. "I was just waiting for the right time."

"Alright, alright. I get it."

"Are we done arguing?"

"Yeah, we're done. At least until tomorrow when we find something else to fight about." He was such a saint; trying to lighten up the mood.

"Like shoes."

"Shoes?"

"My boots."

Chuckling he answered, "Yeah, we can argue about that… tomorrow."

"Mmmkay. Tell me you love me."

"How about I show you instead?" He leaned in and gave me a chaste kiss. When I tried to push it farther he separated and laughed breathily.

"Self control, I still beat you in this every time."

"Shut up and kiss me like you mean it. You were being cheap earlier and the sale is over."

"Glad to see you're back."

"You missed my sarcasm?"

"I missed more than just that."

"My kick ass comebacks."

"That too."

"My endearing personality, topped with enough stubbornness to rival the Irish."

"That's what I missed. Crying just doesn't suit you." I knew that. I was not a dainty weeper. When I cry, my make-up runs. My hair becomes knotted and greasy, and my eyes puff up. The fatigue that followed was also an inconvenience. Like right now. Now was my time with Beck and it was ruining it as I felt my eyelids droop. "Hey Babe," Beck asked.

"Mmmm."

"If Tori didn't give you a black eye, then why did you blame it on her? Do you really hate her enough to plan this huge elaborate scheme?"

Plan? What kind of person did he think I was? "Beck!"

"I gotta ask."

"I didn't plan it. I froze and lost my balance." How could he think I would do it on purpose?

"Then why didn't you just say so? You didn't have to blame Tori."

"It just came out." Like he would believe that.

"Things don't just come out Jade!" He was livid. I couldn't tell whether he believed me or not, but he was obviously mad either way.

"Well it did."

"You're hiding something!" His yelling was pushing me and I was so tired of being pushed around. Everyone was wanted to push me by either molly coddling me or smirking behind my back for getting hit.

"You said we were done arguing!" He had just agreed to postpone it till tomorrow and he was already changing his mind.

His eyes widened as I stared at him in the face. We were so close I could feel his breath fan against my lips. His eyes continued to probe mine, searching for the answer that I was not going to give him. I couldn't give to him. It was just too personal. He shook his head and conceded.

"You're right, but Jade, you're hiding something and whatever it is, it's not as bad as you think." He stood up and I thought he was going to leave. Instead, he pushed me forward and sat behind me with his legs encasing me. He tugged my shoulders back against him and wrapped his arms around my midsection. "Jade," he breathed into my ear, "just tell me."

Damn that boy, but I would not give in. I leaned my head against his shoulder and popped out a "Nope".

"Why not?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. It couldn't hurt to tell him part of it. Right? "It's embarrassing," I admitted.

"You don't think Tori's embarrassed. Everyone thinks she hit you."

"She's getting a lot of street cred for it. People are starting to respect her." Honestly, everyone was giving her a huge circle today. You could see the fear in their eyes. Fear that used to be present when they looked at me. Not anymore though.

"No, they're starting to fear her. She's not like you. She doesn't want to be feared by everyone."

"I don't want to be feared by _everyone_."

"I don't count as everyone."

"Still not everyone."

"Cat doesn't count either."

"Mmmmm. Alright everyone."

"Anyways, she's not like you. She doesn't like it and she's suffering for something she didn't do."

"I'm going to fix it." Did he really think I would leave her to roast? I may not like her, but if she really had an issue with this kind of attention, then I had no problem taking it away from her.

"But why did it happen in the first place?"

I hung my head forward. He wasn't going to stop pressing, and until I gave in, I wasn't going to get any snuggle time. "Because I thought she was him."

"You thought…"

"Her voice sounded like his," I interrupted. "The sick grotesque excitement from the anticipation. It was so much like him, I got confused. I didn't shake it off until later. By then, it was too late. I was going to fix it, but then the chair happened."

"Jade," was all he could say as he snuggled into my hair; finally realizing the gravity of what had happened. "Jade, I…"

"Doesn't matter, I'm gonna fix it."

"Fix it?"

"I'm going to get your precious Tori out of trouble and take away her street cred." If he was really that upset for her, then I would fix it for the sake of hanging out with him after I dealt with the repercussions.

"She's not mine Jade."

"Not the point. I'm going to fix this, but we may not be able to hang out for a while."

"Jade, what are you going to do?"

"Fix her problem." I already said this; multiple times. Why did he keep asking? Idiot.

"At what cost?"

"Nothing big." At least, not regarding some people. He would probably think it huge.

"Jade, I want Tori to get out of trouble, but I want you to stay out of trouble even more. If Tori knew what happened then I'm sure she wouldn't want you to do whatever you're planning." How the hell would he know what Vega wanted? Did he really hang out with her that much? He should be more concerned with my wants. Right now, I wanted to make out.

"Doesn't matter what she wants," I bit out. I wanted to get rid of this guilty feeling, and the only way to do that was to exonerate her of everything. I got her into this mess and I would get her out of it. Plus, I knew she would be happy if I was humiliated. Mean old Jade getting what's coming to her, right? "Beck, I gotta do this. Just, promise me you'll stay with me afterwards, even if people start pressuring you to do otherwise." People would definitely be upset if my plan worked. Knowing Vega, she would probably convince the group to avoid me for a while as well, including Cat. I was going to be really lonely.

"Jade, you know I don't give a damn what people say about us."

"Al-right." Damn, there was a crack in my voice.

"Babe, whatever you're planning, please don't let it be as bad as it sounds. Just apologize to her and let her know what happened." How absurd!

"I will never tell her what happened! I would rather she hated me." I paused to grab a breath. "But, our friends may not hang out with me afterwards," I admitted. He should probably be prepared to hang out with only one of us at a time. Hopefully he would choose me, at least for a little while.

"Then don't do it Jade. I don't even know what you're planning, but it sounds bad. Please, just tell me." I couldn't.

"You'll try to talk me out of it."

"I already am." And you were doing a pretty good job at it, but I had to do this or he would never forgive me for not fixing it. More importantly, I would never forgive myself. I couldn't reveal that Tori didn't give me a black eye without admitting who really did. The only way to do it would be to pretend it never really happened.

"If I tell you, it won't be believable. Beck, please, just trust me." That was a lie. I just really didn't want to tell him. He would figure it out, I knew he would.

"Answer me this. Are you going to get injured anymore than you already are?"

"Not physically." Those lonely lunches though, hell yeah.

"Ahhhh, Jade. I… can't you…" He sighed; giving up. A small part of me wished he wouldn't though. Just so that I wouldn't have to do this. "Just promise me that if it gets too bad or you can't handle it, you'll come straight to me. You'll drop everything and find me. Promise me."

"I promise."

"And promise me you'll tell me everything when it's over."

"If you promise to never tell anyone."

"Deal."

"Alright."

We stayed like that for a while. Eventually, Beck turned on the TV and began watching some show about race cars. I leaned my head against his shoulder and began to drift off, but right before I did, I felt him place another kiss against my eye and whisper, "I love you."

I slept well that night, despite knowing what I had to do the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

Unfortunately, time has a funny way of moving faster when you're asleep. I woke up in the same position I had fallen asleep in; the only difference being that my arms now rested on his hands. I glanced around at his clock. School would start in three hours. I would need all of that time to get ready. Unfortunately, I was still encased in this comfortable cocoon of arms and legs. I didn't really want to wake him, but I had no choice. I took a moment to enjoy the feel of Beck's face in the crook of my neck and his chest against my back before I forced him arms off of me. I lithely rolled forward and crawled over the arm of his couch. As my feet touched his fuzzy carpet I heard him groan, but when I looked over my shoulder to offer a swift apology, he had merely turned over in his sleep. What a guy.

I headed towards his restroom while grabbing my stage make-up box. I tried to open his lavatory door quietly, but it still squeaked as though I wanted to make as much noise as possible. I rushed in and shut it quickly so that the noise wouldn't last as long. I tried to find a place to set my box on Beck's counter, but it was as crowded as ever. Granted, it was my stuff covering his sink, but it was still his sink that was messy. The boy needs to be cleaner. I shoved my things aside and plopped my box on his counter. Carefully, I placed a special waterproof concealer over my eye so that it wouldn't wash off. People didn't need to see how bad my black eye was. It would only cause them to hate Vega even more. Shame was partially the reason as well. I didn't want everyone gawking at my eye. I enjoyed making a statement, not being a pity case. I knew some people would be more than happy to see my black eye. Any normal girl would cover it up with make-up, right? I finished applying the make-up for the rest of my face and started packing up my make-up. I could hear Beck rustling around outside the door as I worked. I must have actually woken him up. There was a muffled crash and then an 'Ow!" I decided to leave him be. He could take care of himself… … … and so could I.

I didn't need to keep hiding my black eye from the world. It was shameful, and I was stronger than that. But, I didn't have time to wash everything off. Plus, that would only make my face red and blotchy. So, I carefully applied a fresh 'black eye' to my face; figuring I would make it a little lighter so it wouldn't look like Vega did such a number on me. It was hard because when I reached for the blue make-up, I moved my arm the wrong way and a fresh wave of pain shot through. I tried to apply the eye make-up correctly, but I went too dark because I kept my wrist curled. I was about to scrap everything and try again when there was a knock on the door.

"Babe," he called through the door.

I groaned. I needed to finish this quickly. It took long enough to do it the first time. I was going to have to rush it. "What!"

"I need the shower."

"You'll have to wait."

"But Jadey…"

"Don't call me that Beckett."

"Please?"

He wouldn't give up. I knew that. I threw the door open. "Hurry up," I snapped. He stood there, gawking at me.

"Your eye. It looks worse." He motioned towards my face as if words weren't enough to convey his thoughts.

"Leave it be Beck, I'm busy."

"But…"

"Do you need the shower or not?"

"Alright, but this isn't over." He rushed past me. I walked over to his closet and looked for a long sleeved shirt. To my dismay, there weren't any. My stash of clothes had run low and I only had muscle shirts left. But that was only my clean clothes. I still had more shirts than he did though. How often did that boy do his laundry? He only had one shirt left. I searched for Beck's dirty clothes hamper. I may not smell perfect but at least I wouldn't be found out. I searched and searched for his hamper, but I couldn't find it. I heard the water turn off and waited at the door for him. The moment he opened the door I bombarded him.

"Where is your clothes hamper!"

"Uhm, I think my mom took it to get washed last night. She should be done tomorrow."

"So, she's going to take forever just to be rude?"

"Uhhh, no?"

"I knew she had it out for me!"

"How does laundry have anything to do with that? Besides she's being nice by doing your laundry for you. Why are you mad exactly?"

"Doesn't matter. I'll go grab my clothes out of your house."

"Babe, the door's locked. You have plenty of shirts left. Just wear one of them." His eyes widened in realization. "Don't worry, you look good in anything."

"I want to wear your shirt. The long sleeved plaid one."

"The one from yesterday?"

"Yes."

"No."

"No?"

"Babe, I love you, but if you start wearing my shirts, especially one that I wore yesterday, people are going to talk. You hate it when they talk about us."

"Don't care, just give me your shirt."

"Yes, you do care. So, I am going to say no. You'll thank me when whatever is causing you to act irrationally is over."

"I need long sleeves Beck." I looked into his eyes pleadingly. "Please." The secret weapon. There's no way he can deny me this.

"You'll kill me later if I say yes."

"I'll kill you now if you say no."

"Relax," he said while pecking me. I grabbed his head and deepened it. Smirking I looked at his slightly dazed face.

"Is that a yes?"

"Nope," he said with foggy eyes. "Still a no." He leaned in for another kiss, but I walked past him towards the closet. I grabbed a shirt and pair of pants and slammed his restroom door. After quickly changing I took off all the bandages on my arm and grabbed as many bracelets as I could. I didn't have that many though and they nearly weren't enough to cover the hole in my arm. I was about to get started on removing my eye make-up when Beck started knocking on the door again. Honestly, was this annoy Jade day. I didn't have time for whatever he wanted. "Jade, hurry up or we won't have time for a coffee run."

I glanced at my phone and wanted to scream. I didn't have time to redo it. I took another glance in the mirror and decided it would have to do. They were going to think it was fake anyways, may as well make it look fake beforehand too. I stalked out of his bathroom and grabbed my bag. Then, I remembered that I had a ribbon in one of Beck's drawers. I ran to it and grabbed the ribbon; tying it as I walked towards Beck and the door.

On my way out of his door, Beck grabbed me around the waist. "Maybe I should say that more often," he murmured in my ear. "I'll never be late again."

"If you have a problem being late then you shouldn't require that I let you drive me to school every day. I have a car and a license and I don't need you for transportation."

Beck frowned into my hair. "You know that's not what I meant." He walked past me and into the car. I sighed. I already felt his absence against my back. I locked his door dejectedly. I really didn't want Beck to be mad at me, but he was going to be mad sooner or later after Tori or someone told him what 'happened'. I might as well get used to the loneliness. I walked over to his car and got in. "Where do you want to get coffee today," he asked stiffly.

"I don't need any coffee today." Actually, I really needed coffee today more than ever, but I needed to be at the school early to get the plan in motion and since we were running late, I wouldn't have time for both.

Beck's eyes nearly popped out of their socket. "Are you okay," he asked. All traces of his earlier irritation were gone and he reached over to grab my hand.

"I'm fine, I just don't need coffee today. We need to get to school so that you're not late."

"Jade, I was just joking, you know I don't mind being late."

"I don't need any coffee okay!"

Beck continued to examine me with his eyes. He found something because he soon looked away and began to drive; still holding my hand. I closed my eyes and just tried to relax for the rest of the ride. Beck's concern for my well being had completely overrun his annoyance by my snappishness and he rubbed circles on my hand for the rest of the drive. As soon as he parked his car in the parking lot he turned around, but I was already out the door and walking to the school.

"Babe, we need to talk," he called out after me. Everywhere, girls looked in our direction with hopeful eyes.

"Don't ever say that to me again Oliver," I called over my shoulder. I had more to say, but he was already at my side and without shouting them, they really had no bite.

"Your eye Jade. It's gotten worse."

"I've noticed."

"Well why?" He turned me around and grabbed my shoulders. When I refused to look at him, he softly grabbed my chin with one hand as he examined my face. "Is that … make-up?"

"Maybe." I yanked my head out of his hand and struggled against him. He refused to let me go.

Instead, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to a more secluded area which happened to be the opposite direction of where I was going. "Why the hell would you make it look worse," he demanded once we were alone. "Tori is in enough trouble, you don't need to get her in to more."

"I already told you, I'm trying to get her out of trouble."

"Then why are you trying to make it seem worse?"

"I'm not!"

"Then what are you doing?" By now he was yelling and I could see heads peeking out from around the corner. I could hear the baited breath of his fan girls, waiting to see if this fight would be the last. One would think they would realize, after all of our fights, that Beck and I would never break up because of fighting. It spiced up our relationship. Most of it was fake anyways, to make it seem like we weren't the 'perfect couple' because I couldn't stand the humiliation from such a title.

"I'd love to tell you, but I can't. I need your reaction to be pure. That's all I'm going to say," I told him as a walked away. I saw his temple twitch in irritation but I kept walking.

Before I reached the end of the hallway, I felt his hands forcefully turn me around and wrap me in a fierce hug. He firmly kissed him forehead before whispering, "Be careful." With that he turned around and walked away; effectively taking away my grand exit. With that I hurried to find my target.

One of the most talkative people inside our school is our resident geek. Sinjin knows all the inside gossip because of his creepy stalking techniques. Some of the more gossip oriented girls also come to him to in the mornings to hear all the news before it gets out. That way, they can be in the know. Sinjin has these weird rules though. If anyone wants something spread, they have to pay him up front early before school starts. I needed to get Vega out of trouble before her punishment was recorded in the permanent records file, so I had to comply. Beck's need for a discussion put me off late though, so now I will be cutting it close. I need him to spread it today or everything will be for nothing.

My plan was to tell him to spread a rumor that my eye was fake and that it was only make-up. AS for how I had applied the make-up so quickly after Vega 'hit' me, people were idiots who would probably never even consider that aspect. If my plan worked, people would turn on me and go to Vega claiming they knew she would never do something like that all along. Beck played a key role in this. When the gossip reaches him, people will be watching his expressions closely. If he believes the rumors, he will be shocked and angry. If he doesn't believe them, then he will become silent and ponder the situation to himself. People will assume he is too angry to speak and that will make my guilt certain in their eyes. If Beck believes them like an idiot, then we will no doubt be over because there is no way he would listen to a girl who purposely got Vega into trouble with such a serious lie.

I was almost to Sinjin's gossip corner when he walked past me. "Hey, moss head, wait up," I called.

Sinjin eagerly turned my direction with hopeful eyes. "Jade," he greeted warmly. "I knew you'd see the situation clearly after a while. I'm so glad…"

"I don't have time to listen to your stupid fantasies," I interrupted. "I need you to spread some gossip for me."

Sinjin's eyes opened widely for a few seconds before going back to size. "I'm sorry," he replied airily. "But Sinjin's Gossip Channel is closed for the day. Please try again tomorrow."

I grabbed him by the collar and forced him against the wall. "Sinjin," I growled.

"I…I can't make an exception for you, Jade. If I did then everyone would bully me for information. I would cease to be cool."

I grabbed a fistful of his hair. "Time's not up," I snarled. "I still have 2 minutes."

"I took an early release today. The rules are that you have to find me before I begin to head to my class. Well, today I decided to head to class early. Of course, a kiss my make me forget where I was headed." He gazed at me hopefully.

I couldn't. Not only would it be disgusting, but I could picture Beck's hurt gaze if he ever knew I had done something like this. Especially with Sinjin. We would be over for sure. Then Vega would get to swoop him up for herself. Her reputation was not worth my love life. I threw him on the ground and stormed off. What was I going to do. Now I had no plan and no hope of getting Vega out of this mess.


	6. Chapter 6

My irritation continued as I stormed into my first period. Steve's lessons were over, so now I went to English; one of the few classes I did not have with Beck. Not even our current subject matter, Edgar Allen Poe, could shake me from my agitation. What was worse was that every student was watching me. Some held looks of sympathy others with triumph. I did not want either of their expressions. I wanted to be feared! This damn eye was more trouble than I ever imagined and I couldn't help the hatred that I had towards Vega slightly increase. Cat was also in this class, but she sat on the opposite side of the room eating cereal out of a baggie. I could have spoken with her before class began, but I didn't feel very talkative and I knew that she would be upset if she saw how bad my eye was. I felt slightly bad, we usually talk or text every night for at least a little bit. I had been avoiding her too much lately. I sat in my seat and waited for the bell to ring, not oblivious to her glances towards me. The bell rang soon, proving that it would have been a waste to try to go and talk to her. The teacher began giving instructions as soon as the bell rang. Hard ass.

The whole time the he was speaking, the guy next to me was brushing his hair died blonde with his fingers and glancing at me. I scoffed. As if he had anything on Beck's hair. I would know, I've seen Beck's hair up close so many times, run my fingers through it so many times, that I knew firsthand that no one could ever compare to him. The teacher was going to have us read The Raven and then write a poem in the same structure. My wrist throbbed the entire time as I wrote. I was rechecking the poem for the structure when the same idiot guy leaned over and asked me, "Does your eye hurt when you read? I could read your poem for you, if you would like."

The nerve of that brat! Before Vega ruined my reputation, my classes would be tense and silent. People's seats were shaking in time with their bodies due to being within my proximity. Now, everyone was chatting with each other and actually laughing in that carefree annoying way of theirs. I could hear Cat's laughter peak out above all of the noise. The worst part, they thought it was okay to pity me. They were actually talking to me! The idiot continued completely oblivious to my fury. "You know, I think it's really adorable that you need someone to protect you. When Beck gets tired of it, give me a call. I don't mind all of the black."

"Neither does Beck," I snapped at him. "Now get out of my face before I cut your tongue out."

"You don't have to act tough anymore. Everyone already knows how vulnerable you are." He said this with a kind and hopeful smile, as though he thought it was actually working; that I would actually like that.

"And why is that," I gritted out. I swear to God, if Sinjin had anything to do with this.

"Everyone knows about how you were crying in the nurse's office." Rumors? Sinjin was going to die!

I seized him by his collar and yanked him to so that he was standing. "Get this, I am not soft, I am not cuddly and I do not need your protection. Beck and I will not break up anytime soon so get that idea out of you head. And make sure you understand this, because if you don't, that hair that you keep brushing is going to get a haircut. I am just as tough as I was before this week." I dropped him and towered over him as he picked himself off of the floor and into his seat. "Don't ever speak to me again." With that, I stalked off, intent on leaving the classroom.

"Yeah," he called after me, "and you're still just as much of a gank." I turned around intent on giving him a black eye of his own. My feet carrying me swiftly to his desk. His shaking form slowly growing larger as I grew closer. I lifted my braceleted hand, not caring how much this punch was going to hurt the hole in my wrist. He was going to get a black eye and I wanted it to hurt as much as possible. I was about to shoot it forward when I felt this huge weight on it. I snarled behind me; expecting to see the teacher. Instead I saw a head of red staring at me with doe like eyes.

"Jade, please don't get in another fight," she begged with her lower lip trembling. I almost threw her off to finish what I had started, but guilt kept me in check. It wasn't just her, Beck would be furious if I got into another fight while I was still 'injured'. I left the classroom, my shaking teacher, and the blonde idiot, and marched to my closet; dragging her along my arm as I went.

The halls seemed quieter than usual, causing the clicking of my heels to echo off the walls. The door to my closet grew as my fast pace brought us closer. I threw open the door and glared at the janitor who was eating a sandwich. He hurried out with a nod in my direction to confirm our silent agreement. I would leave a sandwich in his closet at the end of each day so long as he kept my space void of intruders when my need arose. This, of course, included him. He closed the door behind him and I turned to look at Cat.

"Jadey?" Damn, she was scared. I shuffled around in my purse for some candy, not oblivious to the sniffles she was emitting. Honestly, one would think she was used to my brash behavior after all of these years. Finding a sucker, I tossed it to her. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Welcome." I stared at her as she ate her candy. I was going to need even more candy if she was going to help me form a plan. I knew she kept candy hidden somewhere in this room, I just had to find it. I glanced around the room while keeping an ear out for the end of her munching and slurping sounds. I was about to look back at her and just ask for her help when something bright and colorful caught my eye. There, in the corner of the cabinets was a wrapper. I grabbed a shelf with the intent of hauling myself up, but the pain in my wrist prevented it. Instead, I place my entire arm flat against the shelf and hauled myself up the way; using my other hand normally. Using this method, I climbed high enough up the cabinet so that I was eye level with that particular shelf. Lined up in the back was an entire row of candy jars. Any other space on the shelf was filled with brightly colored candy wrappers. I grabbed a jar and jumped back down.

Cat had just finished her sucker and was now looking at me with confusion. "Jade," she asked, "Where did you get all of that candy?" A look of realization came upon her face. "You stick candy in your bra too?"

"No Cat, that's just you. And please, don't ever tell anyone about that." How would I even fit an entire jar down my shirt? I'm not that endowed.

"Kk," she replied absentmindedly as she gazed longingly at 'my' jar of candy. I had a feeling she didn't understand what she was agreeing to, but I decided not to push it.

"Now Cat," I began, "Do you see this jar of candy?"

"Yes," she whined. "Jade, can I have another piece of your candy? Please, please please please **please**."

"Yes Cat, but first, we are going to play a game."

"Ooh, I love games."

"I know you do. So, here's what going to happen…"

"Oh, wait. What's the game called?"

"Uhhhhhh," I searched for something to describe the task at hand. "It's called… The Idea Giver." I nodded my head in fake conviction.

"But that sounds boring. Can we play something else?"

"No, this game includes candy."

"Then can we rename it?"

"Fine. What do you want to name it?"

"The Robbie!"

"The Robbie?"

"Yeah! You know. Robbie's really smart and he always solving my problems."

"Robbie has his own problems, and he can't even solve them."

"But like last night, when I was upset because you didn't text me like you always do, Robbie said you were just busy. Well, he said that after I convinced him you weren't a cruel uncaring gank."

"Sounds like Robbie wants to get kicked."

"Oh, no. Please Jade."

"Mmmm." It was a terrible name, but Cat really liked that name, and I felt really bad about not texting her. "Fine to both, but I swear Cat. No one will ever find out about this game ok, ever."

"Kk." She said while staring at the candy.

"I mean it Cat," I repeated as I moved the candy out of view. "If anyone finds out about this game, I will rip their head off. This includes Robbie Shapiro."

"What about Rex?"

"Him too. What Robbie knows, Rex knows and vice versa."

"I like Rex."

"That's nice. Now back to the game. Here is the problem." I spent the better part of the next class explaining everything that happened to Cat. I withheld where I got the actual black eye and the fact that my arm is hurt. Everything else she now knew. "This is just pretend though, ok.

"Ok, but what about the candy?"

"You get a piece of candy every time you give an idea. So, how can we fix this?"

"Well, if we want to get Victoria out of trouble, we need all of the kids in the high school to think that Ruby faked the hurt eye, right?"

"Yes, Cat." Thank God she didn't figure out the renamed people.

"What if she just told everyone that she faked it?"

"It's too unbelievable to work," I told her as I tossed her a gumdrop.

"Ok, well what if Ruby punches Victoria in the eye as well? Then Victoria will seem like the victim and Ruby was only getting back at her."

"That could work for the student body, but in the eyes of the administrators, they would both have hit each other. Veg – Victoria would get into more trouble because technically she would have hit a student and then got into a fight with a student, regardless of who started it," I explained as I tossed her another sucker.

"But if Victoria didn't hit back…"

"But she will. Victoria won't just take a hit."

"But Victoria sounds like Tori and I don't think Tori would hit back. She's too nice, so Victoria has to be nice also." Man Cat is dull. She's sweet, but dull. "Hey, where's my candy?"

"That wasn't a new idea Cat. The thing is, should Ruby be willing to take that chance? If it doesn't work then the whole situation will escalate. Then Ruby would have to find her friend Katrina to rethink another plan."

"But…"

"No, it's not a good enough plan."

"Ok. Well, why doesn't Ruby just explain what happened to Victoria and apologize?"

"Because Ruby still hates Victoria. Now, what if Ruby starts a rumor that she gave herself a black eye and only said Victoria did it?"

"Where's my candy?"

"That was a stupid idea, and stupid ideas don't get candy."

"You never said that! You can't change the rules. You're cheating and I don't want to play anymore!"

"Ok Cat, just quiet down." I tossed her another piece.

"Thank you. Now, Jade, that won't work. Remember, everyone saw Victoria hit Ruby. It's completely unbelievable. You would have to show them proof. Rumors just aren't good enough. And even if they were, the rumor would have had to have been started this morning. Ruby couldn't convince Samson to start one this morning. Today is Friday, and Victoria's detention is tonight. Even if you could get the rumor started during lunch, it won't circulate in time."

I already knew this, but I needed to make sure Cat covered all of the bases to get caught up in my stupor. Plus, I didn't really mind tossing her candy and watching her munch on it.

"Ok, well then what can I, I mean, Ruby do?"

"Why doesn't she just give them proof? You said that the concealer was waterproof, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then just have someone throw a water balloon at her. Get Andrew, Katrina, or Robert to do it."

"But then she'd have to tell them why. She can't just say, 'Hey, here's a water balloon. Throw it at my face.'"

"Then what about her boyfriend, you said he knows."

"She doesn't want him involved."

"Well, then there is no solution."

"I know. I guess Beckett is just going to have to be mad a Ruby for a bit."

"Does that mean I lost?"

"No. Here, take the jar."

"Winner!" Cat grabbed the jar and left. The bell rang and I had one more class before lunch. I had one more class before I would have to tell Beck that I had no idea how to fix this.

**Hello again. So, it's been a while. Hehe. I actually had no plans on writing this. It didn't sit down at my laptop and say, "Ok, let's write." Nope. Actually, I was checking my email and saw that someone had favorited and left me a review. I read the review and decided to read all of the others as well. All 53 of them. I was so moved, I opened up my word document and just began typing. I am now out of my writers block for this story. (I'm still completely blocked on Source of the Fire, so if you're waiting for that, sorry.) Hopefully, I will update soon. [This was not a ploy to get you to review… … unless you want it to be. ;) ]**


	7. Chapter 7

I followed Cat out of the closet just as the bell rang. The halls soon filled with the sounds of idiots who think they have a career figured out. I really wanted a cool compress right about now. Sighing, I made my way to the classroom and sat in my seat. I was the first in the class, the teacher having left as soon as I entered the classroom. I waited for the bell while drumming my fingernails against the desk. This classroom was similar to Sikowitz's classroom in that there were two doors.

The bell rang and none of the students had even arrived. What was going on? "Jade?" a voice asked. I looked up to see Lane standing in the doorway. Concern oozed from every pore of his body and flowed through his next words. "I heard you got in a fight today and ran out of class. Is everything ok?" I stared at him with a blank expression. He continued, "You haven't been in an actual fight in a while. I hope you realize your actions have consequences."

"He was saying inappropriate things to me," I lied.

"Was he, or were you trying to make a point to the school?" My eyes widened. How the hell did he come to that conclusion? Don't get me wrong it sounds like something I would do, and a point was definitely made. But was that really why I did it? "I thought so. Whether you realized it or not at the time."

I huffed. I didn't care what he thought. What I did care about, was finding a way to get out of trouble. Cue the puppy eyes. "I guess, I mean. That's not why I did it at first, but I guess it turned out that way. He really was insulting me though."

"Everyone insults you. They don't even try. You just don't like them, so you're insulted."

"I know. It's just that, this time, it was different." I refused to look at him as I said this.

"How so Jade?" Here's the part where I get him. Drop the tough 'act' and pretend to be vulnerable which is exactly what he wants to see.

"Where's the class," I asked in an 'attempt' to distract the conversation. I had to pretend to be nervous. I couldn't just go along, it would be too suspicious.

"Classrooms were changed last minute. You didn't get the note because you weren't in class. I asked the teacher to let me know when you entered the room. Now Jade, that's not important right now. What's important is how this was different."

"He was picking at me."

"How so?" again I 'hesitated'. "Jade, it's ok to be honest about your feelings. Regardless of what people tell you or of what you think, you are still a teenager and you have feelings. What did he say?"

I had heard that line so many times. It was completely useless. I already knew that, I just didn't want to tell him. Beck already knew, and he was the only person I wanted to know. However, I couldn't afford to get in trouble just yet. Beck would see it as an excuse for not telling him that I have no plan to get Tori out of trouble. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed his help. Maybe he could help me come up with an idea. In the meantime though, I needed to get out of this, even if it cost me my pride.

"He made fun of my eye, and insinuated that Beck would break up with me because of it. Plus, he called me weak," I told him quietly. I looked down at the floor so that I would look timid and embarrassed by this whole situation."

"So, instead of going to the teacher like you should have, you lifted him into the air and threatened him."

Shoot. If I didn't win Lane over on to my side soon, I was really going to get detention. If that happened, it wouldn't matter if I had a really good plan, I wouldn't be able to put it in action. Sucking up my pride I forced out the words that I would never tell anyone, not even Beck. "I was scared." They came out quietly because of my reluctance to say it, and for a moment I thought I had made a mistake. I soon realized that the quietness was perfect. If I hadn't said them quietly, this whole act would have gone up in flames.

"You were scared?" He was in disbelief. He had finally gotten me to say what he had wanted to hear since I got into my first fight.

"Everyone was looking at me. He was smirking and others were nodding at him encouragingly. I thought that if I didn't do something, the whole class would start to make fun of me, again." That one little word 'again' was just what he wanted to hear. He wanted a reason for my behavior. A reason other than, I act like this because I like watching the frightened looks of idiots. Now he had it. It was a lie, but it was an answer that he wanted. I suppressed the urge to smirk as his face showed everything he was feeling; confusion, comprehension, elatedness, sympathy, understanding, and determination.

"So, you've been made fun of before?"

I really wanted to walk out this door. He was looking at me with pity and I really didn't want to be here. What I did want, were my scissors. "Yeah, before I came here. Before I auditioned for this school, I decided that I wouldn't be a push over anymore. Since then no one has messed with me, until now. I freaked out. I know I shouldn't have, but I didn't want it to start up again."

By the time I was finished talking, Lane had walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I nearly growled at him. "Jade, I understand you were scared, but fighting is not the way to handle it."

"I promise I won't do it again." I gave him the sad eyes that I sometimes use on Beck to get what I want.

He sighed as if fighting himself. "You do understand that what you did was wrong, right?"

"Yes."

"And if it happens again, what are you going to do?"

The same thing. "Tell a teacher, or ignore him." I was going to be sick.

"Then I guess I can let you off this one time, but only because we've made so much progress today."

I wanted to whoop for joy, but that would ruin everything. "Thank you," I said instead. I slowly got up and started to walk out of class.

"Where are you going," he asked with a slightly hard edge.

"To class." I was going to play the good girl act. Besides, if the clock was correct, which it was, the bell would ring any minute for lunch.

"Really?" His astonishment was well deserved.

"Yeah, I want to show everyone that I won't let this get me down." Or, if the bell wasn't going to ring any second, I would have shown them that I got away with it.

"That's the best thing to do Jade. I'm really proud of you." That one stung a little. Few people have ever been proud of me. Beck loves me, but lately, he keeps giving me these disapproving looks every time I talk to Vega. Granted, I usually insult her. Of course, Lane wasn't really proud of me. He was proud of the story I made up, and only because he thought it was real.

"Yeah," I told him as I walked out the door and began to head for lunch. Typical Lane, he didn't even consider the fact that he never told me where my class was. So, even if I was going to go to class, I would never find it.

On my way to lunch, the bell rang and I was soon surrounded by the bustling crowd of wannabes.

By the time I got outside to the pavilion with my lunch, there was only one empty table. I made a mad dash towards it before anyone else could steal it. I didn't need an audience when I asked Beck for help. If Beck really wanted to sit with 'our' friends today, then I would just sit alone. I could use the time to think of a plan or something. I sat at the table and waited for Beck to show up.

**So, this is pretty short, but at least I updated quickly. Hehe. Well, let me know what you thought.**


	8. Chapter 8

I sat there, waiting for Beck to show up, until the growling of my stomach demanded that I obtain some food for it. I glanced around to see that everyone was still in line, which meant that once they were out of that line, they would be looking for an empty table to seize. Grumbling I sat back in my seat and continued to wait for Beck. It was five minutes later that I remembered that he had scheduled private lessons with some writer to help him with script writing. He wanted to get some guidance for some act he was writing. Something to do with blondes. I had no idea why he would want to do a show about blondes, I mean I'm not blonde so why should he care? Regardless, I was not going to sit here without eating for most of lunch.

I glanced around when I noticed a mop of dark curls. "Oi, Robbie," I called. He gave me a confused look and then looked to either side of him before pointing to himself. "Yes you, you idiot!" He slowly made his way to my table. Once he sat down I grunted out, "How was your day?"

He instantly perked up. "Oh Jade, you won't believe this. Trina kissed me." I will admit, this did catch my attention, if only slightly. I would have asked more, but the growling cut off my question before I could pose it.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just sit here and guard my table. I mean it. If anyone else comes and sits here, there will be hell to pay," I told him as I forced myself to my feet to grab something from the grub truck.

"But, I wanted to go sit with Trina."

"You won't be here long. Just stay until I get back. Besides, there's got to be a reason for her kissing you. It definitely wasn't of her own free will," I told him as I walked off.

"You can't fake that kind of passion," he called after me. I nearly voiced my smart ass comeback, but I decided against it. I needed to get food before Beck came along.

I shoved everyone out of my way as I skirted my way to the front of the line while ignoring their complaints. I would show them that the Jade West had not gone soft. I glanced over the menu and decided that I didn't want anything on it. So, I slipped him a picture of Tori Vega and ordered a salad. Not the salad that he gave to everyone else; the one that was made from rotten vegetables. No, I got the fresh salad that he never serves to anyone… …. … except for me. He also slipped me a turkey sandwich. I paid normal salad price for the whole shibang and walked off with the salad, the sandwich, and a drink in hand. Scoping out Vega's house all night a week ago was completely worth it. I had more pictures than I could count of her in her itty bitty shorts that she calls pj's. Beck wonders why I never want us to stay at her house for the sleepovers she likes to occasionally hold. I would leave the sandwich in the janitor's closet after school today.

I sat down at the table and glared at Robbie and his puppet. He got the message and walked off in the general direction of Trina and her not-friends. I grabbed the fork and began to eat. I ended up eating about half of the salad before my stomach was satisfied, and I spent the remainder of my wait stabbing the leaves with my fork. I began to get drowsy from the rhythmic thunk thunk thunk of my fork against the plastic and soon grew drowsy. My eyes were beginning to droop and I had to shift my legs in an uncomfortable manner in order to clear my head.

What if Beck couldn't figure out how to fix this either. The dude was smart, but this was an impossible situation. More doubts flickered through my head as I continued to shift my legs and wait for him; growing more and more agitated as the minutes ticked by. He finally showed up and I shifted my legs to a normal position while glaring at him. He had made me wait for more than half of lunch. He sat down and asked me, "Hey, how ya feeling."

"My eye hurts," I told him. There was no need to plunge right into the heavy duty topic. Plus, I was feeling a little bitchy.

Beck seemed to take this in stride though, for his next question was, "Oh yeah? Which one?" I glared at him.

"Cute," was my sarcastic reply. I was about to bring up the topic when I remembered my previous drooping eyelids. I knew we had a limited amount of time to come up with a plan, but I was craving the smooth bitter concoction that Beck always brought me. Secretly, I also wanted this nice moment to last a little longer. A carefree, joking Beck wasn't exactly rare, but it wasn't extremely common either. Sure, he'll laugh and crack jokes with the others, but his laugh is fake and his jokes aren't funny. At least, not to him, although the others will guffaw as though he's Jeff Dunham. Right now though, he was genuinely in a fantastic mood. You could feel the happiness radiating from him. I sighed, "I want coffee."

"What's the magic word?"

"Get me some coffee?" I joked. I paused a little for effect and then uttered, "please," in that cute way that I know he can't resist.

"Actually the magic word was lotion, but I'll accept your please because you got a booboo eye." Man, he must have gotten some really good compliments from that guy.

"Two sugars," I called after him.

"I know what to do," he replied. I already knew that. He gets me coffee every morning. He would have to be an idiot to not know by now. No, I was merely making sure that everyone knew that Beck Oliver was still following my orders and catering to my caffeinated whims. We were not splitsville and anyone who wasn't absolutely sure of it before was definitely sure of it now. There would be no more doubts.

Vaguely, I heard Robbie shout, "Trina, wait, baby!" Ha, as if Trina would ever settle for the likes of him. More than likely, she was paid to do it, or she did it in an attempt to get something non-money related that she really wanted. Though, what it was, I wasn't sure. I didn't have enough room left in my mind to puzzle over the business of someone else's though. I had enough drama on my own plate. For instance, even with Beck minutes away from returning, I still had no idea as to how I should broach the topic with him. His good mood helped, but it still wouldn't make the experience any less miserable.

My thoughts were interrupted by a shriek behind me. "You guys, you're so dead," I heard a girl threaten. Now, this kind of scene was one that I could enjoy watching. Maybe she would slap them, or pour food on their heads. Whatever it was I had to find out. As I was turning, however a splash of cold soda engulfed my face and dribbled down the sides of my neck to below my shirt. The ice had hit my eye, which was no picnic either. I stood up, ready to pummel her when I felt a stinging in my eye. I put a hand up to it and my fingers came away with the make-up. It was running. "Oh my god, Jade, I am so sorry. Please don't…" I didn't bother to listen to the rest of her speech.

"Just forget it," I yelled as I made my way out of the pavilion. My make-up was running, I had to fix it. Wait, did I? Slowly a plan was forming in my head and I knew exactly what to do. I was on my way to the hallways when I ran into Beck.

"Jade what are you… oh geez, your eye! Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get going like right now."

"Get going? Where?"

"To put the plan in motion. Don't worry," I called over my shoulder as I continued on my way, "Vega will be all better soon."

I was still going to get in major trouble, but it would be worth it. I just had to find one of her friends first.


	9. Chapter 9

I turned a corner and, as luck would have it, crossed paths with Andre. Of all the people in the school, I had the good fortune to come across the boy who was crushing on her. No amount of fear or blackmail would be able to dissuade him from telling her, meaning I could play my part perfectly with little to no worry of scaring him off. I pretended to be avoiding him as I continued walking until finally I decided it was time.

"What!"

"Umm, what's wrong with your eye?"

"Tori hit me with a cane, remember?" I felt my voice crack at the end and had to suppress a smirk. At the very least, I knew that my superior acting would never be able to be detected. I purposely shifted my posture away from his and not so shiftily angled my eye away as well. I moved my hand in an effort to 'hide' the leakage.

"Yeah, but I've never seen a black eye drip before," he said as we swiped his finger across the make-up. I had to tense my body so that I wouldn't swipe at his hand. I was playing a part, but I still did not enjoy the feeling of being touched. Even Beck could only hold me for so long before I would shove his arm off of me. "This is make-up." As though that wasn't obvious. What, did he want the bottle it came out of as well? Nonetheless, I continued my act of guilt. I really couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. Despite the fact that I would not classify him as a friend, we had still known each other for a number of years. It hurt that he would believe that of me, even if the 'facts' were staring him in the face. I didn't want to see the condemnation in his eyes. I could hear plenty of it in his next words. "Tori never hit you, did she?" I was at a loss for words. His tone of contempt pierced through me. I would always be the evil one to them, wouldn't I? "Fake black eye, fake blood…"

"Look, you cannot tell anyone about this, especially Tori," I pleaded, finally regaining my character. I hated using her real name. It burned like acid off my tongue. I slightly prayed that he would notice the change in the way I called her. Maybe he would figure it out and I wouldn't lose the only other sane member of Beck's friends. He was contemplating and I imagined that the gears in his head were turning in favor of my newfound hope, but I knew they weren't. It was for the best, this was my last chance to free her. I had no other options.

"I won't," was his reply as he nodded his head in understanding, but I could see what he was about to do. It was so obvious that I was able to perfectly plan the moment when I would have to act surprised. I slowly backed away never taking my eyes off of him; waiting for the moment when he publically announced his allegiance to Vega. It didn't have to wait long. "Tori!"

And thus, the chase had begun. I chased him through the halls making as much of a scene as I could. Shouting things such as, "Shut up, Andre, be quiet, please stop it," and my favorite, "Nobody bother Tori." As if that wouldn't be obvious enough.

In the end, I didn't have to pretend to lose Andre. He outran me easily and disappeared into a hallway, off to find Vega and complete my plan. Slowly I trudged to my closet and sat down, laying my head between my legs. I didn't know why I was upset. It's not as though I had a reputation for being a kind and caring, if not moderately decent, kind of person. Beck's friends merely put up with me in order to spend time with him. I was the tag along, and soon, I wouldn't even be that. Beck would end up having to either compromise or choose one of us. He would most likely compromise, as he hated distancing himself from anyone, but my time with him would be cut in half at the very least. Where would I sit at lunch, surely he would want to sit with them, like he always has.

And Cat, she seems to like Vega as well. Perhaps our time would be cut in half as well, or she may just choose one side. Perhaps she would continue on as if nothing was wrong, that blissful ignorance of hers sometimes being a blessing. Or maybe, just maybe, she would choose to spend time with me. She would abandon them and sit with me at lunch, but could I ask that of her? The splitting of the group will devastate her, a girl who can't stand conflict or yelling of any sort. It was possible she would choose them instead, whether for their numbers or for their contrasting personalities. The different scenarios of how this would all work out plaid through my mind in reels until I nearly felt dizzy. Faintly, I heard the opening of a door and whipped out my scissors.

Cat stood in the doorway. She stared at me with her doe like eyes and I could already tell that she had heard what Andre said. I debated whether or not to make a clean break for her. Cement my image as the villain so that she wouldn't have to choose. So that when the others would talk about me, she could join in their angry comments without regret or confusion. That would be the best thing to do for her. It could be my last act for her in honor of the friendship we have shared since childhood. I opened my mouth to snarl at her and seal my fate, but she interrupted me.

Her voice was quiet, and yet, it was commanding. She had closed the door by now and was looking to the side at the cabinet that I had stored her candy in. "I saw you," she began, "when you ran out of the cafeteria. You looked really panicky and I was worried. I didn't see Beck chasing you. So I did because I thought you two had another fight." She changed her focus to the giant trashcan next to me. I put my head down, unable to watch the emotions portraying across her face. "I lost you, but I ran into Tori." Of course she did. Tori always popped up at the most opportune time for her. "We stayed in the hallway and I forgot that I was chasing you." Typical Cat, I thought as I mentally traced any and all shapes I could find in the tile. "Not long afterwards, we heard Andre screaming for Tori. He found us soon and he told us that you faked everything. He told us all about the make-up and how you tried to hide it from him. Tori put the rest together, how you tried to frame her for everything. Not that she didn't already know that she was innocent." I let out the breath I had been holding. Cat had finally said it. Tori was innocent. Soon the whole school would be saying it too. "At first she was really angry. She was saying all sorts of mean things about you, but then she got really quiet. She couldn't figure out how you were able to fake a black eye so quickly. You weren't down for very long. She shrugged it off though and started to think of how to tell Lane. But she's not going to." This caught my attention. "She isn't going to say anything. Of course everyone will know what you did, but you won't get in trouble for it. She said it makes sense that the great Jade West could even get away with a crime that everyone knew and could prove she did. She was really bitter but she walked off soon after with Andre following her. She wouldn't say why she wouldn't tell though." Probably because she's stupid. My fingers were now absentmindedly tracing the shapes I had found earlier. This is it. I prepared to put up another act. This one would be my best yet. Cat deserved no less, and she would be given nothing less. "So now I want to know," she said. I began to consider the nastiest answers to any question she could think of. "Is why you are pretending your black eye is fake."

**Dun dun dun! It's been a while, I know. Been busy with everything. I'm not making excuses because ya'll don't need any. So, with that in mind. Reviews are like the candy on the top shelf of the cabinet in the closet.**


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